Fitbit tracks your steps; now it wants to chart your sleep, too

Fitbit, whose devices encourage people to walk 10,000 steps each day, now wants to put them to sleep as well.

The company said data collected by the millions of Fitbit trackers in use show that people are averaging less than seven hours of sleep a night. And the Zs people do get aren't necessarily the right kind of sleep.

So Fitbit will offer deeper sleep tracking on some of its devices.

Fitbits already track how much sleep people get and use sensors to measure periods of being awake or restless while in bed. Now, using a built-in heart-rate monitor, the devices will break sleep into clinically defined stages.

One of Fitbit's chief competitors, the Apple Watch, doesn't come with sleep tracking, as it needs a nightly recharge.

Other fitness trackers and smartwatches do offer sleep tracking with varying degrees of depth and accuracy, but the sleep capabilities often take a backseat to features for running, cycling and other exercise.

Pushing capabilities beyond exercise could help Fitbit appeal to people whose fitness routines are already stable.

"We really want our users to think about sleep as being as important as your activity,'' said Christina Kothari, senior product marketing manager at Fitbit.

All Fitbits will offer recommendations through the Fitbit app on ways to improve sleep.

For example, if you get more sleep on weekends, Fitbit might suggest that you're not getting enough during the week. Or if sleep quality improves after exercise, the app might suggest more workouts.